Curled fiber material and method of making same



June 17, 1941. w 5 ROBINSON 2,245,874

I CURLED FIBER MATERIAL AND METHOD 0F MAKING SAME Filed May 4. 1939 ,26 27 f6. if

Patented June 17, 1941 UURLED FIBER MATERIAL AND METHOD F MAKING SAME Walter 'Scott Robinson, Chicago, Ill. Application May 4, 1939, Serial No. 271,676

12 Claims.

My invention relates to curled fiber material suitable for cushioning, acoustical insulation, air filtration or other purposes, composed of loosely assembled curled fibers which are preferably, although not necessarily, bonded together at the places where they cross one another or intersect, and this invention has reference more particularly to themethod of curling the fibers and to the curled fiber product.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an inexpensive material suitable for cushioning and other purposes; to impart a permanent curl to fibers in an expeditious manner; to produce a brous cushioning material or the like in continuous lengths from which cushions or other articles may be made; andv to apply a bonding material to the fibers in a manner to insure uniform distribution thereof .throughout the fibrous mass without wastage or imparting unnecessary weight thereto, these and other objects being accomplished as pointed out hereinafter and as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view showing somewhat diagrammatically equipment which may be employed for preparing the curled fiber material;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the clamp for starting the bers over the curling member and between the rollers; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the comb member under which the fibers pass to the curling member.

While my invention is applicable to other kinds` of fibers, it is particularly advantageous in connection with vegetable fibers, such as sisal, hemp, palm fiber, manila, algerian grass, because of the low cost and the lengths in which such fibers are obtainable.- Such fibers or others which are employed are, in accordance with this inventhe fibers of which are preferably treated with a rubber solution, rubber latex or any other suitable adhesive by whichthe fibers of the massl are bonded together at the places where they cross Obviously, mixtures one another or intersect. of various kinds of bers may be employed and incorporated in various proportions in the mass and the kind or quantity of adhesive may also be varied as well as the openness of texture according to the chariacteristics desired in the product and the purpose for which such product is to be used.

For curling the fibers they are drawn length--A v wise in any convenient manner, as for example,

by the opposed rollers IIJv and II, over a straight edge I2 as shown in the drawing,` the bers, which are indicated at I3, being passed under a comb member I4 from which they pass to the straight edge I'2 and this comb member I4 being positioned and arranged to impart suflicient retardation effect on the movement of the lfibers so that the pull of the rollers I0 and II imposes on the fibers as they pass over the straight edge I2 sufiicient strain to bend and stretch the fibers sufficiently beyond the elastic limits thereof, but below the point of fracture thereof, to impart to the fibers a. permanent curl. This stretching of the iibers causes a modification of the fiber structure by reason of which the normal tendency of the bers to return to their original form is eliminated and the ber structure is thus given a curl which is particularly important and advantageous because of its permanence which is unaffected by subsequent operations and processing and persists in the final product.

The iibers may be fed to the' comb member I4 by a wide conveyor belt I5 at the delivery end of which is a cross frame member I6 to one end of which the comb member I4 is pivoted at I1, the frame member I6 being provided with a groove I8 in the upper face to accommodate the lower edgebf the comb member. The comb member I4 may be pivotally attached to the frame member I6 in any convenient manner as for example by providing the latter with a post or bracket I9 with a divided upper end to pivotally accommodate the end of `the comb member I4.

The straight edge I2 is in the form of a. cross bar, the upper margin of which is beveled as indicated at 2D to form a blunt bending edge 2| and this straight edge is preferably mounted on a portion 2Ia of the machine frame by adjusting screws 22 by which the -bending edge 2| may be adjusted to different elevations to provide the desiredbending effect.

A companion member 23 with lower beveled face 24 to match the beveled face 20 of the straight edge I2 is located above the straight edge I2 to provide a narrow channel therebetween through which the iibers are drawn and this member is supported by a hanger 25 pivoted at 26 so that it may be swung away from the straight edge I2 to permit the fibers to be started between the straight edge I2 and member 23. This hanger is pivotally supported through eye bolts 21 to which the hanger is secured by lock nuts 28 to permit adjustment of the member 23 to correspond to vertical adjustments of the straight edge I2 and the member 23 is yieldingly attached to said hanger 25 by stems 29 which slide through apertures in the bottom flange 30 and have lock nuts 3| thereon Awhich limit the downward movement of the member 23 while coil springs 32 on the stems yieldingly hold the member 23 in the lowermost position permitted by the lock nuts 3|.

This member 23 and its hanger 25 are held in the normal upright position against a stop 33 by latch members 34 on a shaft 35 which engage pins 36 on the hanger 25, said shaft 35 being journaled to rotate in suitable bearing extensions 31 of the stop member 33 and provided with a handle 38 whereby the shaft 35 is operable to lock and release the latches 34 from the pins 36.

The upper roller I which together with the roller serves `to draw the fibers over the curling edge 2|, is arranged to swing to and from the roller II lso as to permit starting the fibers between said rollers and accordingly said roller Ill is mounted on a frame 39 which is pivoted at 40 to swing from the full line position to the dotted line position against a stop 4I. A shaft 42 which extends across under the frame 39 has latches 43 thereon which engage pins 44 on the frame 39 to hold the latter in the normal operative position and this shaft 42, like the shaft 35 has a handle 45 thereon for rotating the shaft 42 to lock and release the latches 43.

For starting the fibers through the curling mechanism, a clamp is provided as shown in Fig. 2 in which the ends of the fibers I3 are clamped, said clamp comprising strips 46 and 41 hinged together at one end as indicated at 48 with a locking means 49 at the other ends for holding the strips 46 and 41 closed together.

In operation of the device the ends of a series of strands are secured in the clamp 46-41 and with the comb member I4 raised, the companion member 23 of the curling straight edge I2 swung away therefrom and the roller ID swung away from the roller II, the series of fibers I3 are laid over the straight edge I2 and extended down beyond the roller II with the clamp 46-41 in substantially the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. The roller Ill is then returned to and latched in the position to engage the fibers between said roller I0 and the roller I I, whereupon the clamp 46-41 may be removed. The member 23 is thenV returned to and locked in position above the straight edge I2 and the comb member I4 swung down to engage the fibers after which the rollers III and II are operated to draw the fibers over the straight Aedge I2 at a proper angle and tension to strain the fibers suiciently. but without breaking, to impart a permanent curl thereto.

After curling the fibers may be assembled in any convenient manner into a pad or bat and are preferably treated with an adhesive such as a rubber solution or rubber latex so that the fibers are coated therewith and adhesively secured to one another at their points of intersection or crossing. They may be dipped, sprayed or otherwise treated with the adhesive and formed in the pad or bat in any desired manner.

A convenient arrangement for assembling into a bat or pad may include a conveyor D onto which the curled bers are discharged from. the rollers I0-II and operated at a suiiiciently slow speed to permit accumulation of the curled fibers to any desired thickness. 'Ihis accumulated thickness of the curled fibers is delivered by the conveyor 50 to another conveyor 5I between the adjoining ends of which are upper and lower spray nozzles 52 and 53 respectively which discharge atomized adhesive against the upper and lower sides of the curled hair material and into the interior thereof. Thus the curled fibers are assembled in continuous lengths and treated with the adhesive, after which the material may be compressed, if desired, to uniform thickness or any desired density and dried, after which cushion bodies may be made therefrom, or it may be used for any other purpose, such as sound insulation, air filtration and the like. Because of the permanent curl which has been imparted to the fibers the resultant material has a permanent resilience which makes it particularly suitable for cushioning purposes and the continuous length in which it is produced may be cut into any sizes or shapes that may be desired for the purpose for which it is to be used.

While I have disclosed a preferred form of the invention, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the principles of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of imparting a permanent curl to fibers which comprises differentially stretching the opposite sides of the fibers beyond the elastic limit but below the point-of fracture.

2. The method of imparting a permanent curl to fibers which comprises permanently elongating each fiber at Aone side thereof to a greater length than at the other side thereof by bending and simultaneously stretching the individual fibers beyond the elastic limit but below the point of fracture.

3. The method of imparting a permanent curl to fibers which comprises permanently elongating each fiber differentially at its opposite sides by bending and simultaneously stretching the individual fibers beyond the elastic limit but below the point of fracture.

4. The method of imparting a permanent curl to fibers which comprises permanently elongating each fiber differentially at its opposite ,sides by progressively bending and simultaneously stretching the individual fibers beyond the elastic limit but below the point of fracture.

5. The method of imparting a permanent curl to flbers which comprises arranging separate, unconnected fibers in a group so that they eX- tend in the same general direction, then simultaneously stretching the individual fibers of the group each unequally at its opposite sides beyond 'the elastic. limit but below the point of fracture.

6. The method of imparting a permanent curl to fibers which comprises differentially stretching the opposite sides of the fibers beyond the elastic limit but below the point of fracture and thereafter treating the fibers with a fiexible adhesive.

7. The method of imparting a. permanent curl to fibers which comprises arranging separate fibers so that they extend in the same general direction, thendrawing the thus arranged fibers lengthwise across a. bending edge so as to progressively bend same against the bending edge.

and subjecting the bers at the bending edge to suilicient tension beyond the elastic limit and below the point of fracture to impart' a permanent curl thereto.

8. The method of making a curled fiber material which comprises bending and simultaneously straining bers progressively throughout their length beyond the elastic limit and below the point of fracture thereof and thereby imparting a permanent curl to the fibers, and thereafter progressively combining the curled bers in an open textured mass.

9. The method of making a curled fiber material which comprises bending and simultaneously straining fibers progressively throughout their length beyond the elastic limit and below the point of fracture thereof and thereby imparting a permanent curl to the fibers, progressively combining the curled fibers in an open textured mass and advancing the mass as curled fibers are added thereto to form a continuous length of curled fiber material.

10. The method of making a curled ber material which comprises bending and simultaneously straining fibers progressively throughout their length beyond the elastic limit and below the point of fracture thereof and thereby imparting a permanent curl to the fibers, progressively combining the curled fibers in an open textured mass and advancing the mass as curled fibers are added thereto to form a continuous length of curled fiber materialand treating the open textured mass of curled fibers with an adhesive.

11. A curled fiber material for cushioning or other purposes, said material comprising a mass of fibers, the individual fibers of themass having the opposite sides thereof unequally stretched beyond the elasticlimit but below the point of fracture so that the individual fibers are differentially elongated permanently at opposite sides. 12. A curled fiber material for cushioning or other purposes, said material comprising an adhesively combined loose textured mass of fibers, the individual fibers of the mass having the opposite sides thereof unequally stretched beyond the elastic limit but below the point of fracture so that the individual fibers are differentially elongated permanently at opposite sides.

WALTER. SCOTT ROBINsoN. 

